Trump threatens new tariffs on European allies over Greenland until deal reached, as thousands protest
By Alejandra Jaramillo, Sophie Tanno, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States will impose new tariffs on several European countries unless a deal is reached for the purchase of Greenland, escalating his long-running push for US control of the Arctic territory.
Trump said Saturday he will impose a 10% tariff on “on any and all goods” from Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and other countries starting February 1, increasing to 25% on June 1, until an agreement is reached.
“We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!”
Trump argued that Greenland is central to US and global security and said Denmark’s defenses were insufficient. He warned that the nations’ deployment of small numbers of military personnel to Greenland amounted to “a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet.”
The president added that the US has sought to acquire Greenland for more than 150 years and argued that modern weapons systems and missile defense projects, including the “Golden Dome,” make control of the territory especially important.
His repeated statements have strained diplomatic relations between the US and Denmark, which owns the territory but gives the local population the right to self-determination, while also prompting condemnation from NATO’s European member states.
Several of them deployed small numbers of military personnel to Greenland this week to participate in joint exercises with Denmark.
While it is not necessarily unusual for NATO countries to conduct such exercises, the timing and symbolism represent a significant show of support for Denmark and underscore the current tensions within the transatlantic alliance.
Meanwhile Saturday, protesters demonstrated in Greenland and Denmark against Trump’s threats to take over the Arctic island and demanded that its citizens should be allowed to determine its own future.
In Denmark, thousands turned out in the cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense to stand in solidarity with the Greenlandic population.
A protest kicked off later in Greenland’s capital of Nuuk. Just before 2 p.m. local time there was an estimated crowd of 5,000 — a large proportion of the island’s population of 56,000. People waved banners including “Yankee go home” and “Greenland is already great.”
In Copenhagen many waved banners with slogans including “Hands off Greenland” alongside the territory’s red and white flag, according to Reuters. The protests across Denmark were organized by Greenlandic organizations in cooperation with the NGO ActionAid Denmark. A statement from ActionAid said the unrest was planned to coincide with a visit of US senators to Denmark.
“We are demonstrating against American statements and ambitions to annex Greenland,” said Camilla Siezing, chair of the Joint Association Inuit, one of the Greenlandic organizations involved in planning the protests.
“We demand respect for the Danish Realm and for Greenland’s right to self-determination. Hopefully, we can show that we are many who support Greenland.”
In Greenland on Saturday, protesters were similarly defiant. Asked what her message to the US president was, one female protester in Nuuk, who didn’t give her name, told CNN, “We are not for sale.”
Another protester named Patricia said, “We have seen what he (Trump) does in Venezuela and Iran. He doesn’t respect anything. He just takes what he thinks is his. … He misuses his power.”
A male protester, who didn’t give his name, said, “We do not accept this kind of aggression,” referring to Trump’s threats on Greenland.
“My biggest fear is that the US military come here and try to take over our country. But I don’t think it will happen.”
Amid the escalating situation, a US delegation of bipartisan lawmakers traveled to Copenhagen to meet with leaders from Denmark and Greenland.
In a press conference on Saturday, Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who is leading the delegation, said the Trump administration’s “tempo of statements” around Greenland’s potential acquisition was not constructive.
Senator Coons also expressed his respect to the indigenous people of Greenland, telling journalists that it was a “remote and difficult place to live, and that the population of Greenland has managed to carve out of an exceptionally difficult environment, a culture and an approach to living that is worthy of deep respect.”
The US lawmaker sought to highlight the partnership between the US and Denmark, including in the military sphere, saying that the delegation would visit a cemetery later Saturday to lay a wreath for Danish soldiers who fell fighting alongside American troops in conflicts such as the war in Afghanistan.
Even lawmakers within the Republican Party have expressed their opposition to Trump’s plans for Greenland.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) told CNN that Trump’s threats to other NATO countries were “shameful.”
“The fact that Greenland is part of NATO’s umbrella gives the President all he needs to put more bases there.”
Reporting from Greenland’s capital of Nuuk, CNN’s International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson said the visit by the US lawmakers was intended to signal how much Denmark’s military partnership with the US is appreciated. “The visit to that cemetery today to lay a wreath, really for them, will sort of encapsulate how much the United States has valued that partnership, valued the lives laid down by Denmark, by Danish troops,” he said.
Jake Tapper, Kit Maher and Ivana Kottasová contributed reporting.
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